My goal is to help you manage the balance between work and your family and personal lives. I'll focus on creative solutions to conflicting demands, new strategies for helping people juggle responsibilities, and new trends and developments.

Tuesday, November 20, 2007

BlackBerry addicts at my table

Recently at a business lunch, I looked around my table and noticed everyone on their BlackBerries. I wondered out loud whether my companions were missing out on the moment, an opportunity to bond with the people around them and focus on what the speaker had to say.One of my lunch companions called it a necessary tradeoff. "Checking it during lunch and clearing the e-mail I can respond to quickly saves me staying later at work," says Raquel Alderman, marketing director of The Miami Herald.Yet, Raquel also said she recently found it shocking when another manager called a meeting, and then reviewed e-mails on his BlackBerry while others were talking. "Watching him, I saw myself and it does come across as rude."In our 24/7 world all messages are deemed critical, but the reality is most are not. Most e-mails can wait at least an hour. As my editor, Lisa, suggests, maybe it's not about being addicted to BlackBerries but more about our need to multi-task. Try putting your BlackBerry out of sight at your next business meeting or lunch. It just might be good for your focus, and your career.

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About this blog

Cindy Krischer Goodman writes The Balancing Act column for The Miami Herald. She has been a reporter and business columnist since 1994. The mother of three children, she brings her personal experiences to her beat. Cindy grew up in Miami and has a degree in journalism from University of Florida. Off the job, she exercises, reads, volunteers in schools, and cares for her children. Email her at cgoodman@miamiherald.com